Sunday, May 30, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Franchitti Returns To Victory Circle At Indy 500; Wheldon Runner-Up

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Edward Lewis – AHN Sports Reporter

Indianapolis, IN, United States (AHN) – After a failed venture into NASCAR just a couple of years ago, Dario Franchitti returned to the place that catapulted his career on Sunday when he won the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Franchitti led early, developed a severe vibration and had to conserve fuel down the stretch to win his second Indy 500 in the last four years. Franchitti, who took the checker flag under caution after an incident between Turns 3 and 4, became the eighth two-time Indy winner.

“I now know what guys like Al Unser Jr. have been talking about. What a racetrack,” said Franchitti. “These boys nailed it. I just looked that it was a Bristish 1-2-3.”

Former Indy winner Dan Wheldon took runner-up honors as Panther Racing took second for the third straight year. Wheldon was followed by Alex Lloyd, Scott Dixon, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti and Justin Wilson.

“The car was great in the last few laps so I was really happy with it,” said Wilson, who finished seventh. “I just have to thank the team for all they’ve done. The guys did a great job.”

A total of 14 drivers finished on the lead lap in a race that saw more than its share of black flags and horrific crashes.

Arguably, the most horrific of the incidents was when Mike Conway made contact with another car and Conway’s ride went airborne, tore out the catch-fence and disintegrated.

Conway did wave to the crowd and was helicoptered to a nearby hospital with what early reports indicated was a broken left leg.

Will Power ran into some issues and had to settle for eighth while former champion Tony Kanaan rallied from barely making the race to a finish of 11th.

“I’m happy that this team is as strong as it was before,” said Kanaan.” I’m not happy with the result, but that’s racing.”

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Pujols Powers Cards Past Cubs; Slugger Blasts Three Homers

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Chicago, IL, United States (AHN) – Albert Pujols hit three homers to finish four RBI and Adam Wainwright dealt seven innings of one-run ball as the St. Louis Cardinals won their first series at Wrigley Field in three years Sunday with a 9-1 clubbing of the Chicago Cubs.

David Freese batted 3-for-5 with three RBI while Jason Motte and Kyle McClellan closed the door by pitching two innings of scoreless ball for the Cards.

St. Louis went up 6-0 before Geovanny Soto put the Cubs on the board with a solo shot in the seventh.

Pujols added the final of his three homers, a solo shot in the ninth that restored the six-run lead, and Freese hit a two-run shot later in the inning to provide the final margin.

Chicago (24-27) fell six games behind first-place Cincinnati in the NL Central. St. Louis (29-22) climbed to one game behind the Reds.

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Lehman Prevails In Playoff For PGA Senior Title

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Tom Edrington – AHN Sports Reporter

Colorado Golf Club, Denver, CO, United States (AHN) – Tom Lehman is a man of great faith and conviction. He had one major championship during his regular PGA Tour career, now he has one to jump start his senior days.

Lehman prevailed Sunday in a wild finish at the Colorado Golf Club that saw Fred Couples nearly steal the title after suffering a Saturday putting lapse and a 36-hole rally by David Frost that brought him from 12 shots off the halfway pace and into a three-man playoff.

Lehman, Couples and Frost all finished at seven-under 281 for the regulation 72 holes.

Frost got there with two incredible weekend rounds, a course-record 65 on Saturday and a closing 67. “I was thinking Tim Clark,” Frost said, referring to his South African countryman who shot two great weekend rounds to win the players championship last month.

Couples, who had major putting problems on Saturday, got himself right in the mix Sunday at the 15th and 16th holes, back-to-back par fives.

Couples, who was called “Boom Boom” during his regular tour days, made his first boom at 15 with an approach shot to six feet for a three, then made another boom with his second shot at 16, another gem to seven feet for a second straight eagle.

The latter completed Couples jump from three-under and seemingly out of the competition to a chance for victory at the final hole.

At 18, Couples ripped another long drive and hit his pitching wedge from 136-yards seven feet from the hole. His putt for victory stayed on the high side.

Frost was already in and Lehman birdied 15 and 16 then parred 17 and 18 to make it a three-way playoff.

The trio went back to 18 where Lehman laced a perfect drive. Then disaster struck not once, but twice for Couples and Frost.

Frost drove his ball left into a menacing bunker, too close to a steep lip. Couples’ drive was worse, right of that bunker and into a thick bush.

Couples took an unplayable lie, Frost tried a desperation shot at the green that again went left, into a scrub brush.

Couples third shot finished short of the green while Lehman stood over his ball, with only about 130 yards left. A simple wedge shot left him 12 feet, hole high and staring at victory.

Frost and Couples both ended up with double-bogeys and Lehman’s birdie putt stopped on the lip, leaving him a simple tap-in for the win.

“I feel so blessed,” Lehman said afterward. “This is a wonderful tour.” As he held the giant trophy he smiled and said, “I’m so proud of it. This means a great deal.”

Lehman was the steadiest player in the field, the only man with all four rounds under par (68-71-71-71).

He stayed in touch with the lead all day. Jay Don Blake, who grabbed the early lead Sunday, fell apart with a 40 on the inward nine, and finished tied for eighth at 286.

Mark O’Meara finished solo fourth at 283, five-under while Nick Price’s closing 70 earned him the fifth spot at 284.

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Back From Ban, Basso Wins Giro D`Italia Stage Race

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Verona, Italy (AHN) – Home favorite Ivan Basso secured a second Giro d’Italia title despite a win by Gustav Erik Larsson of Sweden in the 15-kilometer final stage in the time-trial around Verona.

Basso, 32, got the win following an 18-month doping ban for his involvement in the Operation Puerto doping scandal.

Spain’s David Arroyo finished in second place and Basso’s Liquigas teammate Vincenzo Nibali squeezed by Italian compatriot Michele Scarponi for third.

Basso finished in 87hrs 44mins 1sec ; Arroyo: 1min 51secs behind ; Nibali: 2mins 37secs behind.

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Lauren Jackson Powers Storm In Toppling Silver Stars

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX, United States (AHN) – Lauren Jackson poured in 27 points with four boards and one assist, leading the Seattle Storm to a 84-56 thrashing of the San Antonio Silver Stars Sunday at AT&T Center.

The two-time WNBA MVP also had a steal and one block shot for the Storm (5-1), who completely dominated San Antonio to bounce back from their lone setback in five contests against Chicago Thursday

The Storm shot 47.1 percent overall (32-of-68), including 7-of-19 from the three-point area.

Defensively, Seattle held San Antonio (2-3), which entered the tilt with the league’s top field-goal percentage, to 32.7 percent shooting.

The Storm also dominated the boards, 38-29.

Swin Cash added 14 point and hauled in eight rebounds, while Tanisha Wright and Sue Bird each had nine points for the victors.

Roneeka Hodges was the lone player to reach double digits for the Silver Stars, scoring 12 off the bench.

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Currie, Langhorne Fuel Mystics Surge Past Sun

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Verizon Center, Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – Monique Currie scored 18 points to go along with 16 rebounds and Crystal Langhorne added 17 as the Washington Mystics took care of the Connecticut Sun 69-65 Sunday afternoon.

Washington outscored the Sun 20-13 in the opening quarter and gave up 22 points in the fourth quarter, but the Sun never got closer than three points behind as the game ended.

Nakia Sanford scored 11 and Marissa Coleman had 10 for the Mystics, who never trailed and led by as much as 18.

Tina Charles scored 13 points for Connecticut (4-2) and Renee Montgomery finished with 10.

The Sun trail Atlanta by 1.5 games for first in the East. Washington sits third, 2.5 behind the Dream.

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Germany Suffers Another Blow; Defender Westermann Breaks Foot

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Budapest, Hungary (AHN) – Just weeks after losing captain Michael Ballack and midfielder Christian Traesch, Germany now will be without the services of defender Heiko Westermann, who has been ruled out of the 2010 World Cup after suffering a broken foot in a 3-0 friendly win over Hungary.

“Heiko would have played a key role in our team. He would have been important for us because of his polyvalence,” Germany coach Joachim Loew told FIFA.com. “He showed remarkable form in training.”

Westermann, 27, appeared in 27 games this past season for Schalke, which finished in second place in the Bundesliga table.

Germany will open its World Cup June 13 against Australia.

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Zach Johnson Returns To Winner`s Circle At Colonial; Shot Tourney Record 21-Under

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Tom Edrington – AHN Sports Reporter

Fort Worth, TX, United States (AHN) – This hasn’t been a great season on the PGA Tour for Zach Johnson. That all changed Sunday.

Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, hadn’t finished in the top 10 in a PGA Tour event this year. He did something about it on the final day of the Colonial Invitational.

The 2007 Masters champion birdied the first two holes of the day and never looked back. He went into the final round a stroke behind Brian Davis and Bryce Molder, two players looking for their first PGA Tour win.

The leaders found out the hard way that birdies can be harder to come by Sundays as the pair could only muster one birdie between them on the final nine.

Johnson’s putter and accurate iron shots, meanwhile, produced five birdies that gave him a 31 coming home for a second straight 64 and a tournament record-setting score of 21-under par 259.

“I love it,” Johnson said of the Colonial layout. “The course does suit me as far as the shot-making.” He made the shots, but more importantly, he made the putts. He used his putter only 26 times in that final round.

Davis finished a runnerup for the sixth time. He finished with 68 and a solo second at 262, 18-under.

Jeff Overton and Ben Crane were next at 17-under while Molder fell back into a fifth-place finish with an even par 70 on the day that put him at 264, 16-under, with Scott Verplank.

Johnson was able to keep his momentum over the final nine holes despite two weather delays, the first one lasting nearly an hour.

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NFL`s Goodell Confident New Collective Bargaining Agreement Will Be Reached

Posted: 30 May 2010 09:35 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Boston, MA, United States (AHN) – NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly expressed confidence that the 2010 season will not be impacted with the current labor issue. Goodell indicated that a new collective bargaining agreement will eventually be completed.

Though there was “no specific update” on the labor negotiations between the league and its union, there are meetings scheduled in the next few weeks, Goodell said during a press conference Sunday following his commencement address at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell graduation.

There have been no talks between the two sides for quite some time.

Goodell confidently stated, as reported by the Boston Globe on its website, that there was still “a lot of football to be played, so we’re going to be playing this season with absolutely no interruption and it’s not unusual that we are where we are.”

He stressed that there was still work to be done, but added that “there will be an agreement.”

Goodell received an honorary doctorate with his brothers on behalf of their late father.

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Millions Pouring Into Santa Clara Vote Over 49ers Proposed Stadium

Posted: 30 May 2010 04:05 PM PDT

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Santa Clara, CA, United States (AHN) – The campaign for a proposed new stadium for the San Francisco 49ers to be built in Santa Clara, CA, in time of the 2014 NFL season, is reportedly getting millions in financial support.

It could even shatter local spending records for a political campaign,

In an effort to drum up support for the stadium campaign, the Niners are pulling out all the stops, including a reported $3 to million to $4 million in funds.

The target – - no more than about 25,000 Santa Clara registered voters, expected to cast ballots in the special election that could give way to a new 68,500-seat football stadium, where the 49ers will be the primary tenant.

The staggering amount for the campaign, which has gone primarily for television and radio spots in recent months, could reportedly equate a single-day admission tickets to Great America theme park or more than 60,000 tickets to a 49ers contest.

It is reportedly in the process of outspending a number of other well-finance political campaigns on the South Bay record books, including the more than $1 million allotted on the transportation measure to extend BART to San Jose.

At the same time, the said campaign is poised to overtake three other major political campaigns to build pro sports facilities in the Bay Area in terms of budget, including the vote to approve an area for the Sharks in 1988.

Meanwhile, the financial support for the 49ers campaign is said to be about 180 times more than what the opponents of the ballot initiative designated “Measure J” could muster, Mercury News.com reported.

The ballot initiative, which will decide whether to allow the stadium to be built on a parking lot adjacent to Great America, will be voted on June 8.

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